Written Answers Thursday 11 December 2008

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils have been suspended for alcohol-related issues in each local authority in each of the last five years.

Maureen Watt: The available information on the number of pupils of temporarily excluded from school in each local authority area for "Substance misuse – alcohol" from 2003-04 - 2006-07, is given in the following table.

  

 Local Authority
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07


 Aberdeen City
 11
 13
 12
 14


 Aberdeenshire
 37
 9
 26
 25


 Angus
 0
 0
 9
 19


 Argyll and Bute
 1
 14
 4
 30


 Clackmannanshire
 6
 6
 0
 1


 Dumfries and Galloway
 7
 19
 3
 6


 Dundee City
 5
 1
 7
 6


 East Ayrshire
 9
 3
 9
 8


 East Dunbartonshire
 3
 9
 10
 13


 East Lothian
 0
 5
 2
 2


 East Renfrewshire
 0
 3
 1
 0


 Edinburgh City
 12
 0
 0
 6


 Eilean Siar
 0
 2
 4
 1


 Falkirk
 5
 1
 2
 24


 Fife
 30
 18
 22
 13


 Glasgow City
 30
 26
 44
 22


 Highland
 13
 30
 24
 33


 Inverclyde
 0
 1
 5
 3


 Midlothian
 8
 6
 0
 3


 Moray
 12
 10
 3
 8


 North Ayrshire
 3
 9
 14
 4


 North Lanarkshire
 34
 17
 16
 18


 Orkney Islands
 2
 0
 0
 0


 Perth and Kinross
 5
 8
 16
 18


 Renfrewshire
 8
 21
 15
 6


 Scottish Borders
 3
 3
 8
 13


 Shetland Islands
 1
 3
 1
 0


 South Ayrshire
 1
 10
 11
 10


 South Lanarkshire
 1
 9
 10
 10


 Stirling
 0
 2
 2
 0


 West Dunbartonshire
 0
 5
 14
 3


 West Lothian
 8
 4
 2
 10



  Prior to 2003-04, although information was collected on the reason for exclusion, different categories were used and it is impossible to identify those excluded for "Substance misuse –alcohol".

  The 2006-07 figures are the same as those previously published on 4 November 2008 in the answer to S3W-16845.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Census

Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are for the next census.

John Swinney: We are publishing today a policy statement on our plans for the next census, which we propose will be held on 27 March 2011. Census information is widely used by central and local government and others, in planning future policy and service delivery, as well as by businesses, academic researchers and community groups of many kinds. There is no other source of comparable information, particularly for small areas and population groups.

  The Registrar General for Scotland is responsible, under the Census Act 1920, for taking the census in Scotland and plans are already well in hand, based on consultation with users of the statistics, community groups and others. There will be a rehearsal of these preparations in March 2009 in Lewis, Harris and West Edinburgh, following which Parliament’s approval of the proposals will be sought in early 2010.

  The document has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47152).

Central Heating Programme

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time for installation of central heating in Dumfries and Galloway is under its central heating programme.

Stewart Maxwell: Information on waiting times is held for Scotland as a whole.

  The average waiting time during 2008-09 remains around six months.

Civil Servants

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants will be on official visits during the Christmas period.

John Swinney: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Civil Servants

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants visited (a) Iceland, (b) Norway, (c) Ireland and (d) Denmark in 2008.

John Swinney: The numbers below show how many Scottish Government civil servants visited these countries to end November 2008:

  Iceland: 3

  Norway: 28

  Ireland: 65

  Denmark: 26.

Communities

Nigel Don (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support community media projects.

Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Government recognises the valuable contribution that community media can make to fostering a sense of community identity and cohesion, and bringing people together. We are currently taking forward the Scottish Broadcasting Commission report, which recognises the contribution that both community radio and local television make.

  In addition, Highlands and Islands Enterprise can support community media initiatives under its Strengthening Communities remit and Scottish Enterprise can also assist community media through its remit of supporting business growth and developing a competitive business environment.

Communities

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will deliver the commitment made in the Achieving our Potential policy framework to "increase availability and usage of money advice services and ensure they are appropriately targeted at and accessible to people from minority ethnic and faith communities" in each local authority area.

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it will provide to deliver the commitment made in Achieving our Potential policy framework to "increase availability and usage of money advice services and ensure they are appropriately targeted at and accessible to people from minority ethnic and faith communities", broken down by local authority area.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government is providing a range of funding to support money advice services and promote financial inclusion.

  The 2008-11 local government settlement allocates £5.298 million each year for money advice. We will also be providing an extra sum of around £1 million over three years, from Barnett consequentials from the pre-Budget report, to expand face-to-face advice capacity.

  We also fund national infrastructure for the sector - training and consultancy to help advisors deal with more complex cases.

  We are committed to rolling out the Scottish National Standards for Information and Advice Providers in the money advice sector.

  We help fund National Debtline. We are also funding Citizens Advice Direct, which provides advice by telephone and email, rather than the traditional face-to-face model of bureaux to progressively increase its coverage from its beginnings in Glasgow to the whole of Scotland.

  The Scottish Government is increasing financial inclusion and is working with the UK Government, local government and key stakeholders, through initiatives such as financial champions, to ensure money advice services meet the needs of all sections of the community including those from minority ethnic and faith communities.

Construction Industry

Gil Paterson (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to consider a registration scheme for builders that would help identify bogus builders.

Fergus Ewing: The identification of traders acting illegally is a matter for local authorities under consumer protection powers reserved to the UK Government. However, as part of its work to support local authorities in their implementation of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, the Scottish Government is exploring options for facilitating a "trusted trader" framework across Scotland. The aim of such a framework would be to ensure that homeowners needing to carry out work to their home had access to basic information on reliable traders, mainly through their local authority trading standards department.

Council Tax

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dwellings there were in each of the last five years.

John Swinney: The information requested is as follows:

  Number of Dwellings

  

 
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007
 2008


 Scotland
 2,378,603
 2,398,470
 2,417,759
 2,442,284
 2,462,571



  Source: CTAXBASE (Council tax taxbase) returns made by councils each September. Includes both dwellings that are chargeable for council tax purposes and dwellings that are exempt from council tax.

Council Tax

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dwellings there were with a single adult discount in each of the last five years.

John Swinney: The information requested is as follows:

  Number of Dwellings with a Single Adult Discount

  

 
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007
 2008


 Scotland
 906,788
 918,432
 918,199
 929,326
 929,246



  Source: CTAXBASE (Council tax taxbase) returns made by councils each September.

Crime

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the Lothians region were charged with fraud in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table. As statistics on persons charged by the police are not collected centrally, the number of persons proceeded against in Scottish courts has been provided instead.

  Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Fraud1 in Lothian’s Local Authority Areas2, 2002-03 to 2006-07

  

 Local Authority Area
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07


 East Lothian 
 9
 24
 12
 10
 7


 Edinburgh, City of 
 310
 253
 245
 182
 221


 Midlothian 
 2
 8
 1
 4
 2


 West Lothian 
 47
 35
 31
 28
 21


 Total
 368
 320
 289
 224
 251



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Incorporates an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courts will deal with cases from more than one local authority area. Some local authority areas in Scotland, among them Midlothian, do not contain a sheriff court.

Crofting

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Orkney Islands Council, the Scottish Crofting Foundation and the NFU Scotland regarding the impact on small farmers in the crofting counties of losing access to the Crofting Counties Agricultural Grants Scheme and what views were expressed during discussions.

Michael Russell: We had no formal discussions with any external stakeholders about our proposals prior to the publication of the Scottish Government Response, to the final report of the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting, because no small farmer needs to be worse off as a result of our decision to focus the scheme on crofters.

  Small farmers who are not crofters are currently eligible for grants under both the Crofting Counties Agricultural Grants Scheme and the Rural Priorities part of the Scotland Rural Development Programme. In future they will continue to be eligible for support on the same financial terms under Rural Priorities. Or, it they wish to retain access to both schemes, they will need to convert their landholdings to crofting tenure.

Culture

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it currently provides to the Lighthouse in Glasgow for the funding of the Six Cities Festival.

Linda Fabiani: We currently provide no funding to The Lighthouse for a Six Cities Festival.

  Funding provided for the Six Cities Festival 2007 was for specific projects. The Lighthouse acted as the co-ordinator for this work and the festival was not core funded. The centre received no project funding beyond that needed to enable the festival to be held in 2007.

Culture

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has committed future funding to the Lighthouse in Glasgow in order that the second Six Cities Festival can proceed.

Linda Fabiani: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-18356 on 11 December 2008. It is not our intention to fund a second Six Cities Festival. We have, therefore, committed no project funding to The Lighthouse for this purpose.

  We are not convinced that there is sufficient evidence of long term impact or legacy to justify the level of government investment required and will explore alternative ways of supporting the architecture, design and creative industries.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Economy

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional health and wellbeing measures it is considering, as alternatives to GDP, to establish the performance of its economic policies.

John Swinney: Through our Government Economic Strategy, we have set a number of strategic targets to focus activity on delivering our overarching Purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth. These include a specific target to increase healthy life expectancy in Scotland. We have put in place a framework which includes measures such as mental wellbeing and poverty levels to track progress toward that target and to ensure that policies are aligned to provide more Scots with the opportunity to maximise their potential.

Education

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the assessment of teaching performance in schools.

Maureen Watt: Ensuring the best possible performance of our teachers is an important issue to pupils, parents, teachers, local authorities and the Scottish Government alike. It is up to schools and local authorities to manage performance issues appropriately.

Emergency Planning

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next carry out simulation exercises for the management of a pandemic (a) as part of a UK-wide exercise, (b) as a Scottish national exercise and (c) at individual NHS board level.

Shona Robison: Exercise Cauld Craw will take place in late April and May of 2009. This exercise, based on a pandemic influenza scenario, will practice generic capabilities, (such as crisis decision making and the maintenance of essential services) that apply to any major emergency. It will also evaluate the ability to respond to challenges (such as the provision of high volumes of personal protective equipment for use by NHS staff) which are specific to a human health emergency.

  Exercise Cauld Craw is aimed primarily at the Scottish Government itself. It will also involve several multi-agency Strategic Co-ordinating Groups (SCGs) and NHS boards. It will take lessons from Exercise Winter Willow which was led by the UK Government in 2007 and which also involved a number of SCGs and NHS boards.

  The scheduling of future exercises involving a pandemic scenario is dependent on the relative risk from a pandemic as opposed to other potential emergencies.

Enterprise

Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to discourage firms from holding commercial properties vacant.

Jim Mather: Scottish Enterprise (SE) has an important role in working collaboratively with industry and the rest of the public sector to help address the challenges facing Scotland’s businesses, particularly in helping them cope with the rapidly changing economic environment.

  Although SE has no specific statutory role in ensuring the occupancy of commercial property,it does assist companies in identifying appropriate properties to meet their requirements. Any enquiries from businesses looking for property that are received via Business Gateway and Scottish Development International are provided with a comprehensive list of available property that meets their criteria. This is not restricted to property that is owned by SE, but includes all available property regardless of ownership.

  Additionally, SE provides support to the urban regeneration companies in Scotland, many of which have plans for the acquisition and redevelopment of obsolete property, and ensures that our own property projects do not compete with private sector development activity.

First Minister

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what gifts the First Minister has received since January 2008.

John Swinney: All gifts received by ministers from January 2008 – March 2008 have already been published and can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/FOI/Disclosures/2008/10/Gifts2008/Gifts12008.

  In accordance with paragraph 9.26 of the Scottish Ministerial Code (18 June 2008) gifts received by ministers will be published on a quarterly basis.

Footpaths

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to assist in the development of long distance footpaths.

Michael Russell: The Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967 provides statutory powers for the designation of national long distance routes. In the past Scottish Natural Heritage has been able to provide some financial support for these projects. Going forward, local authorities will have the opportunity to make funds available as they develop access opportunities in their areas in line with their single outcome agreements and with their core path plans. There are also opportunities for land managers and community groups to secure support for path projects under the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

Forestry

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the future of forestry.

Michael Russell: We are fully committed to ensuring that forestry continues to provide a wide range of economic, social and environmental benefits for the people of Scotland. In conjunction with the forestry sector, Forestry Commission Scotland is working to a strategy which sets out clear objectives for key themes covering climate change, access and health, business development, timber, environmental quality, biodiversity, and community development. Woodland expansion is central to all these themes. We have made significant funds available under the SRDP for forestry and we are currently consulting on options aimed at further enhancing forestry’s contribution to climate change.

Health

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients underwent hip replacement surgery in 2007, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The requested information is shown in the following below.

  Number of Patients who have Undergone a Hip Replacement1,2,3, Broken Down by NHS Board of Treatment. Calendar Year Ending 31 December 2007

  

 
 Number of Patients4


 Scotland
 5,867


 Ayrshire and Arran
 366


 Borders
 119


 Dumfries and Galloway
 99


 Fife
 356


 Forth Valley
 201


 Golden Jubilee National Hospital
 572


 Grampian
 747


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 1,244


 Highland
 374


 Lanarkshire
 335


 Lothian
 834


 Orkney5
 0


 Shetland6
 0


 Tayside
 580


 Western Isles
 40



  Notes:

  1. Includes patients that have been admitted as an emergency admission or a planned admission.

  2. Includes patients who had had a primary total hip replacement and hybrid hip replacements.

  3. Patients of all ages who have undergone a hip replacement within the NHS in Scotland during 2007 have been included.

  4. The figures do not reflect the total number of operations, since a patient can have more than one hip replacement in a year.

  5. Patients who live in Orkney had their hip replacement carried out in Golden Jubilee or NHS Grampian.

  6. Patients who live in Shetland had their hip replacement carried out in NHS Lothian, NHS Highland or NHS Western Isles.

Health

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients underwent knee replacement surgery in 2007, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The requested information is shown in the following table.

  Number of Patients who have Undergone a Primary Knee Replacement1,2 Broken Down byd NHS Board of Treatment. Calendar Year Ending 31 December 2007

  

 
 Number of Patients3


 Scotland
 5,911


 Ayrshire and Arran
 320


 Borders
 106


 Dumfries and Galloway
 103


 Fife
 407


 Forth Valley
 239


 Golden Jubilee National Hospital
 831


 Grampian
 580


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 1378


 Highland
 254


 Lanarkshire
 342


 Lothian
 781


 Orkney4
 0


 Shetland5
 0


 Tayside
 555


 Western Isles
 15

Health

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3M-17628 by Shona Robison on 6 November 2008, what interim measures are being put in place to protect patients and health care professionals and inform them about venous thromboembolism until the review of Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 62 is published.

Shona Robison: As an interim measure until the publication of the revised SIGN Guideline 62, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the Chairman of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (QIS) wrote to NHS Boards in January 2008, asking them to adopt a standard patient information leaflet on the prevention and management of DVT. NHS QIS is conducting a follow-up exercise and is expected to report to the CMO later this month on NHS boards’ progress.

  In addition, in April 2007 the Scottish Government provided Lifeblood, the Thrombosis Charity, with funding to develop a general information leaflet on DVT and to promote awareness of thrombosis. This leaflet was distributed to all general practices across Scotland.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether regular monitoring of organisms is undertaken on devices used routinely on patients, such as blood pressure cuffs and saturation measurement devices.

Nicola Sturgeon: The action being taken to mitigate against cross infection from these devices is to ensure regular and effective cleaning. All NHS boards have decontamination policies for patient equipment detailing when and how items should be cleaned, and more specifically that patient equipment should be cleaned prior to use on another patient. The implementation of policies relating to the decontamination/cleaning of patient equipment is monitored by the charge nurse who will ensure staff in her/his area are aware of procedures and how these should be applied.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prescriptions for antibiotics were issued in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following table shows the number of prescribed items for antibiotics for the financial years ending 31 March 2006 to 2008. The data given refer to items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors but do not include medicines dispensed in hospitals or hospital-based clinics.

  

 Year Ended 31 March
 Number of Prescribed Items


 2006
 4,173,480


 2007
 4,263,505


 2008
 4,338,241



  The information in the table has been provided by NHS National Services Scotland.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how the statutory duties of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland will be preserved in its merger with NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and the Care Commission.

Shona Robison: Following the ministerial announcement in November discussions are currently under way with the bodies concerned about the functions of the new health and mental welfare body which will be set out in legislative proposals for the Parliament’s consideration.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients died in 2007 as a result of hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally, as death certificates do not specify whether the venous thromboembolism was acquired in hospital or not.

  The following figures include deaths in 2007 caused by Venous Thromboembolism (VTE), broken down by NHS board area, and deaths caused by pulmonary embolism, as the overwhelming majority of these deaths are likely to be as a consequence of VTE. The figures also indicate whether deaths occurred in, or out of hospital.

  

 NHS Board of Residence
 Venous Thromboembolism
 Pulmonary Embolism


 All Deaths
 Deaths in Hospital
 Deaths not in Hospital
 All Deaths
 Deaths in Hospital
 Deaths not in Hospital


 Scotland 
 139
 60
 79
 257
 209
 48


 Ayrshire and Arran
 5
 4
 1
 30
 23
 7


 Borders
 3
 2
 1
 3
 2
 1


 Dumfries and Galloway
 9
 3
 6
 7
 7
 -


 Fife 
 13
 5
 8
 20
 12
 8


 Forth Valley 
 11
 4
 7
 22
 21
 1


 Grampian
 8
 4
 4
 13
 12
 1


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 31
 17
 14
 66
 53
 13


 Highland 
 6
 3
 3
 15
 11
 4


 Lanarkshire
 19
 7
 12
 21
 19
 2


 Lothian
 25
 6
 19
 38
 31
 7


 Orkney
 2
 1
 1
 1
 1
 -


 Shetland
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 1


 Tayside
 6
 4
 2
 18
 16
 2


 Western Isles
 1
 -
 1
 2
 1
 1



  Source: General Register Office for Scotland.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many recorded deaths there were in which Clostridium difficile was a contributory factor in each of the last eight quarters, broken down by hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on recorded deaths in which Clostridium difficile was a contributory factor is available through the GROS website at:

  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/deaths/clostridium-difficile-deaths/index.html.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive against which organisms copper-impregnated mops have proved effective in testing undertaken by Health Facilities Scotland.

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to roll out the use of copper-impregnated mops across the NHS as part of the work on preventing healthcare associated infections.

Nicola Sturgeon: Health Facilities Scotland (HFS) have co-ordinated a scientific study into the effectiveness of copper-impregnated mops in two NHS Scotland boards. This was a preliminary study and the results were not conclusive in establishing how effective copper solution is at removing organisms responsible for healthcare associated infections. HFS are in the process of carrying out further research into the potential benefits of this technology.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Health Facilities Scotland is undertaking work on the use of silver-impregnated drapes and linen as part of the work on preventing healthcare associated infections.

Nicola Sturgeon: HFS continually monitor new techniques and technology for fighting healthcare associated infections, and should strong evidence for the use of silver-impregnated drapes and linen emerge, then HFS will investigate their suitability or otherwise for use by NHS Scotland.

Housing

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanism exists for tenants to appeal against a local authority determination of abandonment of tenancy.

Stewart Maxwell: The abandonment procedure for Scottish secure tenancies is set out in sections 17 and 18 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. Section 19 of that act provides that a tenant whose house has been repossessed in accordance with that procedure has a right of appeal to the court within six months of the repossession. Under section 21 of the act, a joint tenant has the right of recourse to the court within eight weeks after the date the landlord serves the notice bringing the abandoned tenant’s interest to an end.

Ministerial Engagements

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish ministers have official engagements in Scotland on Hogmanay.

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the official engagements of each minister during the 20 December 2008 to 4 January 2009 parliamentary recess.

John Swinney: It is not possible to list official engagements of each minister as planned or scheduled ministerial events are subject to constant change, often at short notice.

NHS Finance

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the 2008-09 budget would be for each NHS board if the baseline budget had been uplifted by inflation only and how this compares to the uplift actually received by each board.

Nicola Sturgeon: Details are as follows:

  

 NHS Board
Actual Initial Allocation 
2008-09
(£ Million)
Allocation with Inflation Uplift Only 2008-09
(£ Million)
Difference
(£ Million)


 Ayrshire and Arran 
 546.658
 544.273
 2.385


 Borders 
 158.858
 158.165
 0.693


 Dumfries and Galloway 
 228.093
 227.097
 0.996


 Fife 
 479.740
 474.627
 5.113


 Forth Valley 
 375.507
 372.611
 2.896


 Grampian 
 646.297
 641.578
 4.719


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde 
 1,790.901
 1,783.088
 7.813


 Highland 
 459.614
 457.609
 2.005


 Lanarkshire 
 760.490
 754.488
 6.002


 Lothian 
 963.040
 955.851
 7.189


 Orkney 
 29.660
 29.391
 0.269


 Shetland 
 34.929
 34.776
 0.153


 Tayside 
 566.431
 563.960
 2.471


 Western Isles 
 55.189
 54.949
 0.24


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 183.395
 182.594
 0.801


 National Services Scotland 
 247.160
 245.961
 1.199


 NHS 24
 53.377
 53.144
 0.233


 The State Hospitals Board for Scotland
 33.727
 33.580
 0.147


 National Waiting Times Centre
 39.983
 39.809
 0.174


 NHS Education for Scotland
 361.670
 360.092
 1.578


 NHS Health Scotland 
 17.312
 17.208
 0.104


 NHS Quality Improvement Scotland
 16.240
 16.169
 0.071


 Total
 8,048.271
 8,001.020
 47.251

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-17745 by Nicola Sturgeon on 19 November 2008, why bank staff assimilation is being left until the end of the Agenda for Change process.

Nicola Sturgeon: It should be made clear that the majority of bank staff, over 35,000, have already been assimilated. Of those staff left to process, boards are generally prioritising substantive staff because, once these staff are assimilated, bank workers will be able to be transferred to Agenda for Change relatively quickly. Boards will have more resource available to conclude the process for bank workers once the more complex substantive staff have been assimilated.

National Trust for Scotland

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support the National Trust for Scotland in meeting its heritage obligations in the face of lower visitor numbers.

Linda Fabiani: We will continue to support the National Trust for Scotland through Historic Scotland’s Historic Environment Grants Programme by providing funding to undertake quinquennial surveys of the trust’s main properties and to run a maintenance programme. In 2008-09, this funding will amount to £385,000. The trust are also entitled to apply for funding through the Historic Environment Grants Programme Building Repair Grants Scheme.

Procurement

Bill Wilson (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its international framework, whether the Scottish Government will consider making representations in favour of modifying EU procurement law to allow public bodies within its responsibility to determine what products their contractors supply in order to avoid supporting companies that openly disregard human rights, for example by depleting regional water resources to the detriment of a population, by acting to limit workers’ freedom of association, or by subcontracting so as to benefit indirectly from child labour.

John Swinney: Public bodies are free to decide what types of products they wish to purchase, but EU law generally requires that they avoid referring to particular manufacturers or to products of a specific make or source or to a particular process when framing the technical specifications to which those products must conform. Companies tendering for public contracts are generally required to disclose any convictions and EU law already allows public bodies to consider excluding from competition any tenderer who has committed a criminal offence or act of grave professional misconduct in the course of their business. Guidance on this has been provided by the Scottish Government’s Procurement Directorate in Social Issues in Public Procurement document. Against this background we do not intend to make representations to the European Commission.

Roads

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many written submissions to the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route public local inquiry the reporters received and how many were from (a) individuals and (b) organisations.

Stewart Stevenson: Scottish ministers have received more than 10,000 representations concerning the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. These have been passed to the reporters appointed to conduct the public local inquiry and will be considered as they formulate their findings and recommendations. The breakdown requested could only be provided now at disproportionate cost.

Roads

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many written submissions to the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route public local inquiry the reporters considered and how many were from (a) individuals and (b) organisations.

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the submissions received by the reporters were (a) partly and (b) fully outside the remit of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route public local inquiry.

Stewart Stevenson: The reporters appointed by the Scottish ministers will consider only those representations that fall within the remit of the public local inquiry and the terms of their appointment. The information requested will be contained in their report.

Scottish Government Buildings

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will follow the UK Government’s lead in agreeing to procure only buildings that are in the top quartile of energy performance.

John Swinney: Improving the energy efficiency of its buildings estate is an important objective for the Scottish Government and as part of that it will seek to procure only buildings that are in the top quartile of energy performance.

State Hospital

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects that the new State Hospital will be commissioned.

Shona Robison: The redeveloped State Hospital will be commissioned in early 2011 when the new accommodation will come into full use.

State Hospital

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients are in the State Hospital and how many the new hospital will be able to accommodate.

Shona Robison: On 8 December 2008 there were 163 patients cared for at the State Hospital. The planned capacity for the redeveloped facility will be to accommodate up to 140 patients.

  Only those for whom a transfer is assessed as appropriate and safe will move to other services. Medium secure accommodation and other relevant services will deliver the forecast numbers by the 2011 commissioning date.

World Heritage Sites

Aileen Campbell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the plans are for future World Heritage Sites in Scotland.

Linda Fabiani: The UK nominations for new World Heritage Sites until 2011 have already been announced. These are as follows:

  2009 - Pont-cysyllte Aqueduct, North Wales

  2010 - Darwin at Downe, Bromley - will be resubmitted for consideration

  2011 - the Monkwearmouth and Jarrow Monastic Sites, Sunderland.

  The UK is restricted to making one nomination a year, and in 2008 the Antonine Wall was successfully nominated. Historic Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government has contributed to the consultation document on World Heritage in the UK issued by the Department for Culture Media and Sport, and will continue to work with government departments across the UK as the policy develops. The Scottish Government is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the World Heritage Convention.